| playwright, novelist, and poet

The Ward

“The Ward” is a new play written for Midland Actors Theatre, and performed by a community cast in the Midland. It’s based on the story by Anton Chekhov, “Ward No.6” and is accompanied by a workshop and discussion exploring how attitudes to mental health have changed over time.

Russia, 1892.

A mysterious new patient is brought to the mental health wing of a hospital in Siberia. He claims he can see events that are happening, in this very moment, in other parts of the world.

Dr Ragin is mesmerised by the man’s stories. He can’t work out of his patient is really a visionary – or simply a compelling storyteller.